YRV is first of a new wave from Daihatsu

Daihatsu’s new YRV (Young Recreational Vehicle) is the first of a new wave of Daihatsus to have been purposely styled to suit European tastes. It is also a particularly important car for the marque, heralding the start of a new era for Daihatsu Ireland.

It’s all to do with style, feel, structure and yes, looks. Image is soooo important. And this one has its own brand of ‘street savvy’ stamped all over it.

To this end, it seems a lot of European design clinics were held during its various planning stages resulting in designers coming up with a vehicle that is 148 inches long, 64 inches wide, which Daihatsu say is in line with most of its immediate rivals. It certainly looks wider and lower than it is and inside, there is a feeling of space.

Daihatsu have aimed the newcomer at a wide age range to take in singles, couples and families, aged anywhere from 20 to 40-plus ... it will be up against some of the best-selling cars here in this, the largest segment, including the Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, and the Opel Corsa. However Ian Bloomer, general manager of Daihatsu Ireland, says he believes it is well up to the task. He also expects that demand for the YRV will be high right across Europe. Daihatsu is regarded as a market leader in Japan in small compact cars.

Adding extra spice here will be a high-powered version of the YRV variant, due sometime later this year. This will have a 1.3-litre, 140bhp turbocharged engine.

When this compact wagon was unveiled to Irish motoring journalists in January it DID look pretty good parked outside the City West Hotel in south Dublin, from where we got a chance to drive it around a course which included all types of roads ... including the small by-road that links Kill with Straffan and which just happened to be plagued with black ice on that sunny, frosty day. A little obstacle to see how well it coped.

For starters, one of the YRV’s most striking features is its ‘double-wedge’ design - sporty looking on the outside, with a spacious feeling inside, especially in the rear where passengers have a stadium view through the front windscreen. Yep, they’re definitely up in the world as the rear seats are higher.

Inside, the European influence shows with a nice dimple-effect fascia and door casings. The instrument dials are big and clear while continuing the sporty look and are set in very unusually shaped dashboard. Body hugging front seats are made from good quality materials and hold you firmly in place.

There is a sweeping curve effect from dashboard to C-pillar in the way the door bins and fittings have been designed. And there’s a nifty surprise ‘down under’ in the boot with an under-floor storage box for ‘out of sight’ space for small, precious items. In addition, the rear seats can be completely removed and there are sliding floor extenders to give a completely flat and large capacity load area as a two-seater.

On the safety side, a full impact-sensing safety system is standard across the range. The front chassis has been designed to deflect the engine and transmission downwards in the event of an frontal impact, rather than intruding into the cabin, so as to provide the occupants with better protection.

And for those on foot, the YRV has been designed to be safer to pedestrians in the event of a collision, in the same way as the marque’s Sirion - which is now officially Europe’s safest car to a pedestrian in the event of an impact. The Sirion achieved three stars in the Euro NCAP supermini pedestrian crash tests. Two stars was the previously highest awarded to any other car.

So, now we’re all belted up and rearing to go, safe in the knowledge that we’re being well looked after. How did it drive?

From the off, the 1.0-litre (58bhp) version we drove proved very responsive and full of pep for such a small power unit. And though it clearly was a 3-cylinder, the sound it made wasn’t at all unpleasant. The ride and handling were almost sporty which bodes well for the upcoming high-powered sporting version. And it dealt easily with the unexpected ice on that test route. It also attracted lots of passerby interest when we stopped in Straffan village to photograph it! Well, the fact it was red and so obviously new, probably helped!

Daihatsu already makes some of the ‘greenest’ cars on the planet and say the YRV is no exception, being a truly frugal performer when it comes to both fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions. The 1.0-litre is capable of doing up to 50 miles per gallon while the 1.3-litre (NOT the high-powered one to come) can hit 47 miles per gallon in manual form.

The engine technology used in the YRV is similar to that in Toyota’s award winning Yaris, because Daihatsu, being part-owned by Toyota, actually design and make the VVTi engines for the Yaris.

Central locking, power steering, twin airbags, electric mirrors and windows, both front and rear; and factory fitted immobiliser are standard on every model, with remote keyless entry on 1.3-litre models.

Prices start at £11,858 for the 1.0-litre model and £13,165 for the 1.3-litre. A 1.3-litre automatic will be available from the end of May. So, with four versions soon to be available of this one model, Daihatsu are laying down a marker that they’re very serious about doing business.